Daily Gold Update

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold fell 0.8% to close under $1,194 as rebounding equities and a rising dollar pulled money from safe havens.

Equities jumped after Friday's sell-off as additional stimulus from China and some tentatively better corporate earnings lifted risk appetite. The Dow rallied 1.2% and the Global Dow added 0.5%.

For the second time in two months, China's central bank slashed reserve requirements for banks in an effort to increase liquidity and lending. The cut is the deepest since the financial crisis of 2009, and signals an aggressive move to revive growth in the world's second largest economy.

Pressuring dollar-denominated assets like precious metals, the dollar rallied against major rivals and the euro tumbled, largely in response to growing worries that Greece will default, exit the Eurozone, and trigger contagion throughout the region. The insolvent nation has until May 11 to strike a deal with international creditors to receive additional bailout funds before running out of money. With virtually no progress over three months of negotiations, the likelihood that Greece will avoid default is very much in doubt, according to EU officials.

The other precious metals outpaced golds decline, with silver losing 2.1% while platinum and palladium dropped 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively.

At the Comex close: June gold fell $9.40 to $1,193.70; May silver lost 34 cents to $15.89; July platinum dropped $18.70 to $1,148.80; and June palladium declined $10.55 to $772.40 an ounce.